Language Abilities of Bilingual Children with ASD – LABA

Despite the increasing number of bilingual children diagnosed with autism, the impact of bilingualism on language development in autism is still unknown, so much so that abandoning one of the languages of the child is often advised. This project will examine the effect of bilingualism on language development in autistic children by exploiting the context of the Basque Country, which includes a wide range of bilingual situations and where the vitality of the Basque language is attested. Tests in various language and non-language domains will be administered to three groups of bilingual children (aged 6-12), in both of their languages, (Basque and French/Spanish): autistic children, children with language disorder and children with no disorder, as well as to age-matched French-speaking and Spanish-speaking monolinguals, with or without autism. The results displayed by the bilingual children will be compared to those of the monolinguals, and they will be confronted with information on early language development, language exposure and language use obtained via a parental questionnaire. This will allow for a precise characterization of language abilities in bilingual children with autism, the development of a method for identifying language impairment in these children, and the development of recommendations for clinicians, notably concerning the way bilingualism factors may contribute to language assessment of bilingual children with autism, as well as for families, notably concerning language practices.